Centralized security system employing a magnetic checking device

ABSTRACT

A replacement for the watchman&#39;&#39;s clock and key system employed by security guards to verify that security tours are properly made. In this new system, the guard carries a card with magnetizable rods in it instead of the watchman&#39;&#39;s clock. He then proceeds to a number of checking stations along the route of his security tour where, instead of the key which is inserted into the watchman&#39;&#39;s clock, there are a number of boxes into which the magnetizable card is inserted. These boxes contain magnets which may or may not effect the magnetization of the bars in the card. When the tour is completed the guard inserts the card into a reporting station where the magnetic card is checked. If the security tour has been made properly the right rods will be magnetized in a particular manner by the magnets in the boxes and the checking station will send a signal to a central recording station to indicate completion of a properly executed tour. If the tour was not properly made and the proper bars magnetized, no such signal is sent to the recording station and the guard is told so. The guard must then report into the central location or repeat the round.

United States atent 1191 Ellul [45] Dec. 25, 1973 CENTRALTZED SECURITY SYSTEM EMPLOYTNG A MAGNETIC CHECKING DEVICE A replacement for the watchmans clock and key sys- ABSTRACT Inventor? Joseph Euul, Poughkeepsie, tern employed by security guards to verify that security tours are properly made. In this new system, the [73] Assignee: International Business Machines guard carries a card with magnetizable rods in it in- Corporation Armonk stead of the watchmans clock. He then proceeds to a number of checking stations along the route of his sel Filed: J 1972 curity tour where, instead of the key which is inserted [211 App No; 267,292 into the watchmans clock, there are a number of boxes mto WlllCll the magnehzable card is mserted. These boxes contain magnets which may or may not 1 Cl 340/306, 3 149 346/52 effect the magnetization of the bars in the card. When [5 Clthe tour is completed the guard inserts the card into a Field of Search R, reporting station where the magnetic ard is checked 346/52; 235/61'12 61-12 M If the security tour has been made properly the right rods will be magnetized in a particular manner by the References Ciied ma nets in the boxes and the checkin station will 2 g UNITED STATES PATENTS send a signal to a central recording station to indicate 2,308,198 1 1943 Muehier 340/306 Completion of a P p y executed tour- If the tour 2,914,746 11 1959 James 340 149 A was not P p y made and the P p bars magne- 3,154,761 /1964 OGormar1.. 340/149 A tized, no such signal is sent to the recording station 3,264,632 8/1966 Ward 340/306 and the guard is told so. The guard must then report into the central location or repeat the round.

Primary ExaminerDonald J. Yusko Attorney-James E. Murray et al. 8 Clams, 7 Drawmg Flgul'es 16 I6 16 6 16 16 16 ROUTE ROUTE ROUTE ROUTE [I ROUTE ROUTE ROUTE ROUTE CHECK CHECK CHECK CHECK CHECK CHECK CHECK CHECK SIMON M STATION STATION STATION STATION STATION STATION i GUARD RPT F STATIONS iZ CUARO RPT 1 GUARD RPT t 12 STATION 6 STATION 4 6 05 FE 6 2CFEB-911B111 1OI\ ENRAL6 6 FEES 1 I 4 1 1 STATION RECORDER 6'50 FEB91 2 1 1 1 1 TIOOFEB9111111 1 2 1 12 I 1 GUARD RPT i CUARO RPT t 24 ROUTE ROUTE ROUTE ROUTE ROUTE ROUTE CHECK CHECK nfi CHECK j GUARD RPT t CHECK CHECK CHECK STATION @STALION 22 STATION STATION 2 STATION STATION STATION 22 "b 9 16 16 -44: 2 w/ 16 11ou1r m ROUTE 14 20 CHECK CHECK CHECK STATION STATION STATION PATENIEDnEczsrers SHEET 3 0F 4 FIG. 4

FIG. 5

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION This invention relates to a system for checking on security guards to see that they perform their inspection tours properly.

Up until now, secuitry guards have carried a watchmans clock which is a spring wound mechanism loaded with paper tape that is advanced at minute intervals. As the guard proceeds along the route of his inspection tour he stops at specified and marked locations in the building, picks a numbered key and inserts it into the clock. When he has inserted the key the tape inside the clock is imprinted with the key number and the time of insertion. The guard usually makes a number of such trips, say at hour intervals, and after completion of his shift the tape is removed and inspected to insure he has properly performed his duties. In a large manufacturing plant there may be or more security officers making the rounds during an eight hour period. Assuming the guards are on duty for 16 hours during the week and 24 hours on weekends, this means that up to clocks on week days and 30 clocks on weekends have to be loaded and unloaded with the tape each day and scores of feet of tape have to be inspected at the end of the day to insure that the guards have been performing their duties. Loading and unloading of the clock, of course, is expensive and time consuming meaning that the watchmens rounds will not be checked until after his shift is completed so that he may go a whole shift without properly checking his security area.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION The present invention was designed to eliminate these problems with the conventional watchman clock technique. In place of the clock, the guard carries a card with magnetizable rods in it. He then proceeds to a number of checking stations along the route of his security check where, in place of a key which is inserted into the clock, there are a number of boxes into which the magnetizable card is inserted. These boxes contain magnets which may or may not effect the magnetization of the bars in the card. When the round is completed the guard inserts the card into a reporting station where the magnetic card is checked. If the security check has'been made properly the right rods will be magnetized in a particular manner by the magnets in the boxes and the checking station will send a signal to a central recording station to indicate completion of a proper security check. If the security check was not properly made and the proper bars magnetized, no such signal is sent to the recording station and the guard is told so. The guard must then report into the central location or repeat the round.

It can be seen that with the present invention there are no clocks to wind, load and unload, and instead of many feet of tape from each clock, there is only one record made at the central location. Furthermore, this record can be immediately checked at the central location by the officer in charge so that he can see how the secruity checks are proceeding, giving him up to the minute knowledge at all times. Furthermore, these simple magnetic devices are reliable and fail-safe, eliminating arguments between touring officers and their supervisor over whether they had been properly performing their rounds.

Therefore, it is an object of the present invention to provide a new checking system for security guard tours.

Another object of the present invention is to provide a replacement for the usual watchman's clock that is more timely in that it provides up to the minute information on the progress of the tours being conducted by the security officer.

Other objects of the invention are to provide a scheme for checking on security officer tours that is inexpensive, more accurate and reliable than the commonly employed watchmans clock techniques.

DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS These and other objects, features and advantages of the invention will be apparent from the following more particular description of the preferred embodiment of the invention as illustrated in the accompanying drawings, of which:

FIG. 1 is a clock diagram of one security system in accordance with the present invention;

FIG. 2 is a plan view of a magnetic card used in the system shown in FIG. 1;

FIG. 3 is an end view of the same magnetic card as is shown in FIG. 2;

FIG. 4 is a side view of a route checking station with the door to the station open with the card shown in FIGS. 2 and 3 inserted into the station;

FIG. 5 is a section taken along line 55 in FIG. 4;

FIG. 6 is a section taken through the side of guard reporting station with the card shown in FIGS. 2 and 3 inserted in it; and

FIG. 7 is an electrical schematic of the circuitry in the guard reporting station.

Referring now to FIG. I, a central station 10 is connected to a plurality of guard reporting stations 12 by electrical lines. Each reporting station 12 covers a touring route for one guard. Along the touring route there are a number of route checking stations 16 which the guard must cover on his tour. The guard, as he makes his rounds, stops at each of the check stations 16 and inserts a card 20 into a slot 22 at the checking station. At certain of the stations the magnetic card 20 has data magnetically imprinted in it. After the completion of his tour, the guard proceeds to the reporting station 12 where the code imprinted on the card 20 is checked against the preselected code stored at the checking station. If the guard has made his rounds properly the code in the card 20 will match that stored at the reporting station 12 and a signal will be sent from the reporting station 12 to the central station 10. Upon receipt of the signal, the central station 10 records, on a paper tape 24, which reporting station 12 reported in, and the time and the date of the report. If the guard has not properly made his rounds so that the code stored magnetically on the card 20 does not match that stored at the reporting station 12, no check signal is transmitted to the central station 10 and the guard is given an indication that his rounds were not properly made. If this occurs he must report to his supervisor by phone or in a written report at the end of the day. The supervisor can, therefore, sit in the central station 10 and check the tape 24 to see if all stations 12 are reporting properly. When there seems to be a problem in any station he can immediately determine it and go down to the route covered by the station 12 and see what the problem is.

The ,card carried by each security officer is shown in FIGS. 2 and 3. The card 20 is made out of plastic with five hard carbon steel rods 26 embedded in it. As shall be seen hereafter, certain of these rods 26 receive a magnetic signal at the different check stations 16. When the guard starts his rounds all the rods 26 are magnetized with the north pole facing up and as he proceeds through his tour certain of the rods, two or three of them, will be magnetized so their south pole will be facing up. The plastic case is rectangular except for two keying ridges28 on one of the surfaces thereof. These keying ridges 28 assure that the magnetic card can only be inserted into the various stations 16 and 12 in one direction. The card also has embedded in it a plurality of electrical contacts 30. These contacts 30 are connected to magnetic reed switches 32. The purpose of these switches will be described later in connection with the reporting station 12.

The route checking stations 16 are shown in FIGS. 4 and 5. As can be seen, the stations 16 each comprise an enclosure with an aluminum box 36 which forms the top and four sides of the enclosure. The bottom of the enclosure is formed by the base of a plastic housing 44 with a slot in it. The guard takes the card 20 and places it in the slot which serves as theentrance to a cavity 38 with grooves 40 which accept the ridges 28 of the card 20 if the card is inserted into the slot with the proper orientation. One wall 42 of the aluminum box 36 forms a door with hinges 46 at the bottom. The wall is always kept locked to prevent tampering with the contents of the box. However, the security officer in charge can open the box. When the box is open it reveals a magnet 50 positioned on either side of the housing 44. The magnets 50 are eachpositioned in one of two cavities 46 formed in the sidewalls and top surface of the base of the housing. These cavities form detent positions for the magnets 50 which places the magnets so that they are operably aligned with one of the rods 26 in the card 20 when the card 20 is in the cavity 38.

The magnet 50 is either inserted with its south pole facing the cavity 38 or its north pole facing the cavity 38. If it is inserted with its south pole facing the cavity it will change the direction of magnetization of the rod 26 in the card 20 aligned with the particular detent position. However, it will not effect the direction of magnetization of any of the other rods 26 in the card 20. If the north pole of the magnet is facing the cavity 38 it will not reverse the direction of the field of the rod 26 adjacent it nor will it effect the direction of magnetizazation of any of the other rods in the card.

Each of the stations 16 contain one or two magnets 50. In most of the stations the magnets 50 have their north poles facing up so that they have no effect on the direction of magnetization of the rods 26 in the card 20. However, in at least two or three of the stations on any route there will be a magnet 50 with its north pole facing the cavity 38 so that at least two or three of the rods 26 have their direction of magnetization reversed by the time the guard completes his tour. Thus, when the guard properly completes his tour the card 20 has been magnetically coded inaccordance with some preselected scheme of a combination of rods magnetized north and south. For security reasons, the orientation of the magnets can be changed so that the guard will not become familiar with the checking stations 16 that effect the magnetization of the rods and visit only those stations or be familiar with which rods have their magnetization reversed and change magnetization of the rods with a magnet.

When the security guard completes his rounds he proceeds to a reporting station 12 (see FIG. 6) where he inserts the magnetic card 20 into a slot 56 on one side of the box. This slot 56 has rills in it as do the slots in the checking station 16 so that the card 20 can only be accepted in the box in one orientation. In this slot, the rods 26 in the card-20 each overlay one of the five reed switches 58. These reed swtiches are magnetically biased with the north pole of a magnet 62 so that the armature 60. of the switch is attracted to, what is referred to as, the normally closed terminal NC. If the polarity of the rod 20 above the switch was not changed in the process of the tour it will also present a north pole to its terminal, reinforcing the field of the permanent magnet 62 associated with the switch for biasing purposes. However, if the polarity of the rod 20 has been reversed during the process of the tour it will oppose the field and cause the armature of reed switch 60 to change its position from against the normally closed contact NC to against the normally open contact NO making an electrical connection to that contact.

The five reed switches 58 are illustrated in the electrical schematic of FIG. 7. Each of these reed switches has associated with it a double pole, double throw switch 66 which is also contained in the box of the checking station. These switches are oriented in one of two positions. In the case of 66a, the armature of the switch 68 is positioned upward so that, with the reed switch 58 normally closed, an electrical circuit will be complete through the double pole, double throw switch 66a and the reed switch 58a. If the reed switch was in the normally open position no such complete circuit would be through the reed switch, double throw, double pole combination and an open would exist. Thus, at the end of the tour rod 26a must be poled in the same direction as it was prior to the tour in order to obtain a complete circuit through switches 58a and 66a.

in case of switch 66b, it has its armature 70 positioned in the downward direction and in order for a complete circuit to be obtained through the combination of switch 66b and reed switch 58b, the reed switch must be placed in its normally open configuration. This means that rod 26b positioned above the reed switch 58b must have had its direction of magnetization reversed during the tour. If not, the circuit through the combination of switches 66b and 58b will not be complete. When all the switches 66 and 58 are connected in series and simultaneously wired a complete circuit through them will depend on the combination of the double pole, double throw switches 66 and the magnetic orientation of rod 26 positioned above the reed switch 58. Therefore, in order to obtain a complete circuit between terminals 72 and 74 in the illustrated case, the polarities of rods 26a and 26d must have been unchanged during the tour while the polarities of rods 26b, 26c and 26e must have been reversed during the tour. If this particular combination of reversed polarities of rods is not in existence, there will not be a complete circuit between terminals 72 and 74.

Therefore, it can be seen that the completion of the circuits between 72 and 74 depends on the combination of set switches 66 and magnetized rods 26. The combination is selected by the head of the security department and can be changed periodically so that the officers do not become familar with any particular combination. The head of secuirty will select a particular combination of switches and'then orient a magnet with it's south pole facing the cavity 38 in certain of the tour checking stations 16 to reverse the polarity of the rods 26b, 26c and 26e associated with the particular switches 66b, 66c and 662.

When the card 26 is inserted into the slot 56 each of the flat electrical contacts 30 is in electrical contact with a plunger type switch 76 on the back of the slot. Electrical connection is then made between the relay 82 and the power source '78 through the plunger type switches 76, the card contacts 30 and the magnetic reed switch 32c in the card. The electrical connection goes from the positive terminal of the supply 78 through the plunger contact 76d and card contact 30d,

to the armature of the switch 320, the normally closed contact of that switch, from there through card contact 30f and plunger contact 76f and to terminal 72. Thus, if the tour has been properly made there is a complete circuit between the source 78 and the control terminals of the timing relay 82 and energizing the main coil 86 of the relay 82 so that the armatures 8S and 90 of the relay move to a position in electrical contact with the normally open contacts 92 and 94 of the relay.

The timing relay 82 is a delay on release relay which, when power is removed from its control terminals, remains energized for a preselected period, in this case seconds, and then deenergizes. This type of relay is well known in the art. An example of one is Potter and Brumfield Timing Relay No. CCD-38-20023 which is described in the 1971 Potter and Brumfield catalog.

Therefore, so long as the card 20 remains in slot 56 relay 82 will remain energized. Now, the guard removes the card from slot 56 and inserts it into slot 100. The removal of the card from slot 56 takes power off the control input of the relay 82 starting the delay period to deenergizing of the relay 82 and the breaking of the contacts between the armatures 88 and 9t) and the normally open contacts 92 and 94. If the guard does not insert the card 20 into the slot 100 within those ten seconds he will not be able to transmit a signal to the central location or register a count on the counter 96 because the circuits for sending the signals to the central location ltl or to the counter 96 pass through the armatures 88 and 90 and normally open contacts 92 and 94. The guard, of course, is aware of his failure to send a signal because the face of the counter 96 is in view from the outside of the box. The absence of the counter 96 stepping a count means that something is wrong and the guard must report to his superior either by written report or telephone call to the central station 10.

However, let us assume that the guard did place the card within the slot 100 in the mandatory 10 seconds. Then, a number of actions occur.

The first action to occur is that all the rods 26 are all returned to their initial state so that the card 20 can be employed in the next tour. This is accomplished by magnets 102, the north pole facing upwardly so as to cause all the rods 26 to assume a north polarity.

Two other events occur. One is that the reed switches 32 are energized by the magnets 102 causing their armatures to switch to their normally open contacts. The second is that the flat contacts on the end of the card make electrical connection to plunger contacts 104 at the back of the slot 1.06. As a result of these other two events, the circuitry 98 within the reporting station is energized to perform a number of functions. One of these functions is to make counter 96 add a count because it is connected to the 12 volt source 78 through the armature 90 and normally open contact 94 through the plunger to the card 20 and in the card through the energized reed switch 321: to the counter. As pointed out above, the counter 96 adds a count of completed tours so that the guard knows he has properly completed his tour. A second function performed by inserting the card 20 into the slot is that an electrical connection is made across the terminals 106 and 108 through armature 88 and normally closed contact 92 and 94, the plunger strip 104 and contacts 30 and through energized reed switch 32c. The closing of these terminals causes the printing mechanism at the main station to record the completion of the proper round and who completed the round.

The second relay 1110 at the reporting station is to prevent tampering with the system. If, for some reason, the magnetic reed switches 32 are not energized when the card 20 is inserted into slot electrical continuity exists between source 78 and the control terminals of the relay lit through the armature and normally closed contacts of reed switch 32a, energizing the relay 110 and thereby cutting power to the supply terminals of relay 82 deenergizing relay 82 and, therefore, opening up the circuits to the counter and between terminals 106 and 1108 so that signals cannot be transmitted to the central station. Therefore, when the card is removed from the slot 1100 the circuitry in the reporting station is ready to recount the magnetic card when the next tour is made.

Therefore, while the invention has been shown and described with respect to the preferred embodiment thereof, it will be understood by those skilled in the art that various changes in form and detail may be made therein without departing from the spirit and scope of the invention.

What is claimed is:

11. In a system for verifying the completion of security tours by a guard having a number of checking stations along the route of the tour and a reporting station which the guard reports to upon completion of the tour, the improvement comprising:

a card to be carried by the guard capable of having a message magnetically imprinted on it and changed, and having a first message imprinted on it at the start of the tour; first magnetic means at at least a plurality of said checking stations into which the guard places the card, each said magnetic means for changing a different portion of the magnetic message on the card so that at the completion of a proper round a second magnetic message is stored in the card irrespective of the order in which the guard visits the checking stations; circuit means at the reporting station for checking the card for the second magnetic message to determine if the tour had been properly completed, and giving an indication thereof to the guard; and

second magnetic means for changing the message in the card back to the first message so that the card may be used on another tour.

2. The system of claim ll including recording means for recording the properly completed tours.

7 8 3. The system of claim 1 wherein said card is a nonmeans are magnets to return the polarity of the memmagnetic material having magnetizable members embers to the polarity of that member when the card bedded thereinstores the second magnetic message.

The System of claim 3 wherein Said first magnetic 7. The system of claim 6 wherein the members are all means are each a magnet polarized and positioned to change the polarity of one of the magnetic members.

5. The system of claim 4 wherein said circuit means includes means to detect the magnetic polarity of each of the members and compare it to the polarity of that member when the card stores the second magnetic message.

6. The system of claim 5 wherein said magnetic polarized in one direction to store the first magnetic message and in a specific combination of different directions to store the second magnetic message.

8. The system ofclaim 7 wherein the polarization and position of the first magnetic means and the circuit means are both chargeable to vary the second message. 

1. In a system for verifying the completion of security tours by a guard having a number of checking stations along the route of the tour and a reporting station which the guard reports to upon completion of the tour, the improvement comprising: a card to be carried by the guard capable of having a message magnetically imprinted on it and changed, and having a first message imprinted on it at the start of the tour; first magnetic means at at least a plurality of said checking stations into which the guard places the card, each said magnetic means for changing a different portion of the magnetic message on the card so that at the completion of a proper round a second magnetic message is stored in the card irrespective of the order in which the guard visits the checking stations; circuit means at the reporting station for checking the card for the second magnetic message to determine if the tour had been properly completed, and giving an indication thereof to the guard; and second magnetic means for changing the message in the card back to the first message so that the card may be used on another tour.
 2. The system of claim 1 including recording means for recording the properly completed tours.
 3. The system of claim 1 wherein said card is a non-magnetic material having magnetizable members embedded therein.
 4. The system of claim 3 wherein said first magnetic means are each a magnet polarized and positioned to change the polarity of one of the magnetic members.
 5. The system of claim 4 wherein said circuit means includes means to detect the magnetic polarity of each of the members and compare it to the polarity of that member when the card stores the second magnetic message.
 6. The system of claim 5 wherein said magnetic means are magnets to return the polarity of the members to the polarity of that member when the card stores the second magnetic message.
 7. The system of claim 6 wherein the members are all polarized in one direction to store the first magnetic message and in a specific combination of different directions to store the second magnetic message.
 8. The system of claim 7 wherein the polarization and position of the first magnetic means and the circuit means are both chargeable to vary the second message. 